Category: Employment

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 16, 2024 Number of comments0
Disability Employment Japan Podcast Shog.A.I. Shimbun Welfare

The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #52: ‘Unprecedented’ 5,000 People with Disabilities Quit or Fired from Workplaces in Japan

A nationwide survey of local governments by Kyodo News on the 13th revealed that 329 workplaces where disabled people could gain skills and knowledge while working were closed nationwide between March and July of this year, resulting in at least 5,000 disabled people who worked there being fired or quitting. The highest number of disabled people ever fired in a year was about 4,000. Although this includes retirees, this is an unprecedented number in just five months.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 15, 2024 Number of comments0
Disability Employment Japan Welfare

‘Unprecedented’ 5,000 People with Disabilities Quit or Fired from Workplaces in Japan, 329 Workplaces Closed Due to Cuts in Compensation Payments

 A nationwide survey of local governments by Kyodo News on the 13th revealed that 329 workplaces where disabled people could gain skills and knowledge while working were closed nationwide between March and July of this year, resulting in at least 5,000 disabled people who worked there being fired or quitting. The highest number of disabled people ever fired in a year was about 4,000. Although this includes retirees, this is an unprecedented number in just five months.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 17, 2024 Number of comments0
AI Disability Employment Japan Technology

‘Seamless Buddy’ AI App Visualizes the Strengths and Weaknesses of People with Disabilities Seeking Employment

“Seamless Buddy,” a system that makes it possible to visualize the abilities of people with disabilities, is attracting attention. In March of this year, the system was recognized, and Yoko Takahashi (50), the representative of Danway (Nakahara Ward, Kawasaki City), which developed it, was selected for the “Kawasaki Entrepreneur Excellence Award.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 3, 2024 Number of comments0
Disability Employment Japan Podcast Shog.A.I. Shimbun Welfare

The Shog-A.I. Shimbun Podcast #24: Workers with Disabilities Told Only “Coming to the farm is your job”

“The work was far from professional agriculture, and most of the time was spent on breaks. If there was a harvest, I would do it, but there were days when I just watered the crop. In those cases, it only took about 30 minutes, and I had five or six hours of free time. Some people were on their cell phones or listening to music, and had a lot of free time. They told me that ‘coming to the farm is your job.’”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 2, 2024 2
Disability Employment Japan Welfare

“Coming to the farm is your job”: Workers with Disabilities in Japan Harassed, Given Little Work to Make Up Employment Numbers

“The work was far from professional agriculture, and most of the time was spent on breaks. If there was a harvest, I would do it, but there were days when I just watered the crop. In those cases, it only took about 30 minutes, and I had five or six hours of free time. Some people were on their cell phones or listening to music, and had a lot of free time. They told me that ‘coming to the farm is your job.'”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 1, 2024 1
Barrier Free Disability Employment Japan

Japan raises ratio of employees with disabilities to 2.5% in private sector

The Japanese government has raised the legally required ratio of employees with disabilities in the private sector to 2.5 percent or higher starting on April 1.

The labor and welfare ministry says the number of people with disabilities working at private firms has been on an upward trend. It estimates the figure to be more than 1.1 million as of June 2023.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt March 14, 2024 3
Abuse Disability Employment Hokkaido Intellectual disabilities Japan

Hokkaido ranch operator in abuse suit admits to paying disabled workers in snacks, juice

A ranch operator in northern Japan’s Hokkaido admitted in court on March 12 that they had not paid intellectually disabled workers for decades, giving them only “snacks and juice.”

Three mentally disabled men in their 60s, all living in Hokkaido, have filed suit in the Sapporo District Court against the operators of the Endo ranch in Eniwa, Hokkaido, plus the municipal government there for some 94 million yen (about $635,000), alleging decades of abuse and poor working conditions.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt March 13, 2024 1
Disability Employment Japan

Saitama Employment Support Business Closed Over Non-Payment of Wages to People with Disabilities

It has been discovered that a business that provides employment support for people with disabilities closed down because it did not pay wages to people with disabilities.

A woman who used the company’s office in Koshigaya City, Saitama spoke in an interview.

She said, “The hardest part is not being paid for the work I do. It’s frustrating. I feel like I have no choice but to give up.”